Saturday, 30 June 2012

Season 2011/12 – Teams Witnessed

My last 2011/12 post is the one where I detail all the teams I saw over the season and look at how they did. Where are they now? Are they even still there? Those questions you’ve never asked and many more are answered here as all 67 teams I saw are rated or slated. What’s that you ask? Just where did Hatfield Peverel finish in the Essex & Suffolk Border League this season? Read on below…

AFC Hornchurch (Final position: Isthmian Premier Division: 2nd) –> Managed to get over missing out on the league title to Billericay Town by winning the play-offs. A 2-1 extra-time win over Lowestoft Town means Blue Square South football for the Urchins next season.

AFC Wimbledon (League 2: 16th) –> Decent first season back in the Football League for The Dons. Lost form during the middle which could have got them into trouble but finished well.

Aldershot Town (League 2: 11th) –> A disappointing season overall for the Shots as they missed out on the play-off places by 6 points. Partially covered by the League Cup run where they reached the 4th Round before losing 3-0 to Man Utd.

Amersham Town (Spartan South Midlands League 1st Division: 20th) –> Poor again from the village club as they finished towards the bottom of league. They did finish 8 points clear of Sun Postal Sports but 121 goals conceded tells a story.

Arsenal (Premiership: 3rd) –> Recovered after their dreadful start to pick up some form and beat Spurs and Newcastle to 3rd place. Still no trophy yet though…

Ashford Town (Middx) (Evo-Stik Southern Division 1 Central: 9th) –> Poor start to the season cost them dear as they finished 10 points off the play-offs.

Aston Villa (Premiership: 16th) –> Negative and downright shite for most of the season, relegation would have been fitting. Unsurprisingly Alex McLeish was sacked and now Paul Lambert has the task of making Aston Villa play positive football again.

Barking (Essex Senior League: 5th) –> Will always be remembered by me for being ground #100 and this season they were well away from the Top 2, but well away from being towards the bottom of the league also.

Bethnal Green United (Essex Senior League: 9th) –> Reasonable season in the league by finishing in midtable. Also reached the FA Vase 5th Round but lost to eventual winners Dunston UTS.

Blackburn Rovers Youth (Premier Academy League Group C: 1st) –> Just pipped Manchester City Youth to the Group C win but lost in the Academy Final to Fulham and the FA Youth Cup Final.

Boreham Wood (Blue Square South: 8th) –> Good end of the season run to finish 8th. 10 points off the play-offs.

Bradford City (League 2: 18th) –> Still no progress for Bradford, slumped at the bottom end of the Football League. 6 points off relegation this time out, Phil Parkinson is a man under pressure to deliver next season.

Bradworthy (North Devon League Premier: 6th) –> While 6th is a decent league finish, only a goal difference of +11 compared to 5th place Torridgeside’s +34 shows where they need to improve.

Bristol City Youth (Premier Academy League Group B: 10th) –> Really must do better.

Buckingham Athletic (Spartan South Midlands League 1st Division: 18th) –> Not great from Buckingham as they struggled for most of the season.

Charlton Athletic (League 1: 1st) –> Once Chris Powell’s side went top of League 1, there was no stopping them as they romped home with 101 points and only 5 defeats all season.

Chelsea (Premiership: 6th) –> What an eventful season for the Blues. The AVB project didn’t work as he was punted in early 2012. Legend Di Matteo took over and while they finished a disappointing 6th, the club won the FA Cup and the holy grail of the Champions League.

Chelsea Youth (Premier Academy League Group A: 7th) –> Disappointing in the Academy League as they were not challenging near the top. They did win their 4th FA Youth Cup title though with a 4-1 aggregate win over Blackburn Rovers Youth however.

Chorley (Evo-Stik Northern Premier League Premier: 3rd) –> Another excellent season from Chorley where they almost achieved consecutive promotions but lost in the play-off Semi-Finals to FC United of Manchester 2-0.

Croydon FC (Combined Counties League Premier: 16th) –> 10 points clear of relegation but a lot of points away from making an impact at the top.

Dagenham & Redbridge (League 2: 19th) –> Their dreadful relegation form from 2010/11 continued into this season but their late season form saved them as they were 6 points off relegation.

Dolton (North Devon Premier: 11th) –> Were well away from relegation as they finished 14 points clear but will need a bit more to push forward into the top half.

Dunston UTS (Northern League 1st Division: 3rd) –> Just missed out on a Top 2 finish and a promotion place to the Evo-Stik Northern Premier League. The FA Vase win however, will more than make up for it.

Ebbsfleet United (Blue Square Premier: 14th) –> Good first season back in the BSP, finishing 13 points away from relegation. Can they now push on?

Exeter Civil Service (Southwest Peninsula League Division 1 East: 13th) –> Seem to be going backwards, albeit slowly. One position down on last season but one point more.

Exeter City (League 1: 23rd) --> “Devon’s biggest club”™ were a shambles all season at the back and were promptly relegated back to their level in League 2.

Fisher FC (Kent League: 10th) –> Starting to settle down on and off the field after a few years of turmoil. Next step for them will be getting their own ground.

Fleet Town (Evo-Stik Southern Division 1 Central: 21st) –> Dreadful season for the Fleet as they finished in the relegation zone. Yet, due to Bedfont Town pulling out of the league, they were reprieved so live to fight another day.

Fulham (Premiership: 9th) –> Excellent end of season form to finish in the top half of the league.

Fulham Youth (Premier Academy League Group A: 1st) –> Won their group and retained the Academy League with a 2-0 win over Blackburn Rovers Youth in the Academy Final too.

Gresley (Midland Football Alliance: 1st) –> Kept their nerve to win the League by 2 points over Westfields. They will be playing Evo-Stik Northern Premier League football next season.

Hatfield Peverel (Essex & Suffolk Border League Premier: 8th) –> Finished right bang in the middle of the table due to too many draws over the season. Still a decent base to start their 1st season at their new home however.

Heaton Stannington (Northern Alliance Premier: 1st) –> Kept their good form going right until the end of the season as they took the title by 3 points over Hebburn Reyrolle.

Hendon FC (Isthmian Premier Division: 7th) –> Good effort from The Greens as they finished only 3 points behind the play-offs. Lost in the FA Cup 4th Qualifying Round with a 5-1 away defeat at Luton Town.

Hillingdon Borough (Spartan South Midlands League Premier: 10th) –> Pretty much in midtable obscurity as they were nowhere near the top, nor the bottom.

Kentish Town (Spartan South Midlands League 1st Division: 19th) –> Struggled on the pitch the season and with the loss of the Copthall Stadium to Saracens, they may struggle of the pitch too. Not sure where they are playing next season?

Livingston (Scottish Division 1: 5th) –> Reasonable start back at Level 2 for Livi, John Hughes will need to get them higher in 2012/13 however. And still no news on this new ground?

Macclesfield Town (League 2: 24th) –> Only 39 goals scored tells its own sorry story. Relegated back to the non-league where they may struggle again.

Manchester United (Premiership: 2nd) –> Were a 95th minute goal away from winning yet another league title. Surprisingly it was their loss of form late on that cost them with defeats to Wigan and Man City being the most crucial.

Millwall (Championship: 16th) –> Disappointing league season as they floated around the bottom of midtable throughout and went out of the League Cup in the 3rd Round after a 5-0 away defeat to Wolves.

Morecambe (League 2: 15th) –> After a fantastic start where we all dreamt of promotion, injuries hit a small squad and cost them as they could not regain the form from Aug-Sep. After last season though, this is an improvement – hopefully it’s continued into next season.

Nantwich Town (Evo-Stik Northern Premier League Premier: 10th) –> Lost form towards the end of the season as they finished 15 points off the play-offs. Even had a point deducted for fielding an ineligible player.

Newcastle United (Premiership: 5th) –> A brilliant season under Pardew means the Toon Army can enjoy some European tours next season.

Odense BK (Danish Superliga: 10th) –> A poor season and were very nearly relegated from the top flight. Only 6 points clear of Lyngby Boldklub.

Oldham Athletic (League 1: 17th) –> Non-existent end of season nearly pulled them into relegation trouble but they finished 11 points clear.

Ottery St Mary (Southwest Peninsula League Division 1 East: 17th) –> Looked a beaten club when I saw them so no surprise they only picked up 1 win all season and finished bottom. They sadly pulled out of the SWP League at the end of the season too so will try to regroup in the Devon & Exeter League 3rd Division.

Oxford United Youth (Football League Youth Alliance South West: 6th) –> Missed out on the end of season play-offs by 7 points. Also lost in the FA Youth Cup 3rd Round with a 2-1 home defeat to Bolton.

Oxhey Jets (Spartan South Midlands League Premier: 17th) –> Recent improvement over recent seasons in terms of league position but not in points. Stuck in the mire?

Percy Main Amateurs (Northern Alliance Premier: 10th) –> Comfortable in the end for PMA as they finished 17 points clear of the bottom two.

Queens Park Rangers (Premiership: 17th) –> Still unsure how they stayed up as QPR were dreadful for large chunks of the season. They also have Stoke City to thank as Bolton failed to beat them, meaning they went down instead.

Raith Rovers (Scottish Division 1: 7th) –> Stayed out of the relegation play-off fight by 6 points to play again in D1. Will be interesting next season how they cope with John McGlynn’s departure to Hearts.

Redbridge (Isthmian League Division 1 North: 6th) –> An excellent season for the Motormen as they finished just outside the play-offs and had that FA Cup run to the 2nd Round before Crawley Town beat them 5-0. Seems strange then that the Chairman and Manager left in the close season. A state of flux?

Shrewsbury Town (League 2: 2nd) –> Graham Turner’s men hit form at the right time and more importantly kept it up to secure promotion to League 1.

Sidmouth Town (Southwest Peninsula League Division 1 East: 14th) –> An acceptable first season at Level 11 that started well and then tailed off too early. 75 goals conceded highlights an area they need to improve.

Staveley Miners Welfare (Northern Counties East League Premier: 5th) –> Finished well behind league winners Retford United, however they are making progress in the ground improvements.

Sutton United (Blue Square South: 4th) –> An excellent season back at this level to finish in the play-offs and have a good FA Cup run. We’ll see if they can repeat that this coming season.

Three Bridges (Sussex County League 1st Division: 1st) –> Kept their nerve to win the Sussex County League title by 3 points from Lancing. Their reward is Isthmian League football next season.

Tooting & Mitcham United (Isthmian Premier Division: 21st) –> Dreadful season and in the end they finished 20 points from safety. Will need to regroup and fast before they sink even further next season. Can look forward to their derby vs Dulwich Hamlet though.

Tring Athletic (Spartan South Midlands League Premier: 6th) –> Decent from Tring this time and they’ll want to push on now to challenge for promotion next time out.

Truro City (Blue Square South: 14th) –> Dominated all season (and continued into the summer too) by HMRC court orders and administration threats but on the pitch, they adapted well to their first season at this level.

Welling United (Blue Square South: 3rd) –> Unsurprisingly lost in the play-off final 1-0 to Dartford meaning they’ll have to do it all again this season.

West Auckland Town (Northern League 1st Division: 2nd) –> The nearly men of the season. Just missed out on the Northern League title as Sunderland RCA beat them to it by 2 points and lost in the FA Vase Final too.

Wodson Park (Spartan South Midlands League 1st Division: 16th) –> Floated around the lower ends of the league all season.

Yeovil Town (League 1: 17th) –> Looked to be heading down with Exeter until Gary Johnson came in as boss and Terry Skiverton was moved aside. In the end this was an inspired move as they finished 11 points and 4 places away from the drop.

And that is it! 2011/12 now officially over for me. The prep has already started for 2012/13 too so I’m looking forward to getting back out there and watching some more great/good/average/tinpot/dreadful football. The final pics are some snapshots of games I was at this season. None are my own, thanks to those who took them.